Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Following up on the last story of home renovations (somewhere below), let me share another!

A couple of years ago, we decided to get a car deck built (the trials & tribulations start somewhere near the beginning of this blog, if I were any sort of host, I'd provide links. But who ever said I was any kind of host?). First there were the architects' drawings. Then there was the builder's quotation. Then there were the amended drawings, and more quotes.

Then, bulldozers came in & removed our front garden. Then there were the complications, and builders started on the virgin site some many months later. And many more after that the deck was nearly finished (it'll never be finished, but it's close enough).

Anyway, back at the beginning, when the garden was removed by bulldozer, I remembered at the last minute to save our letterbox. This sat on top of our gas meter for some time, until the deck & a new fence were built.

At this stage, the intention was to get a new letterbox. But you know how it is, the old one, looking like a delapidated birdhouse, sat tacked to our garden fence for more than a year. Once or twice I retrieved it from down the road, presumably having been taken by passing students. A couple of times the wind just blew it to pieces...

Then, recently, I bought a new one over the internet. It arrived in pieces, a slot, a mailbox to be installed into the fence, and some street numbers.

Because our existing letterbox now only consisted of a base, two sides and a No Junkmail sign, some urgency was placed on istalling the new one.

Complications arose when I discovered that my skillsaw was somewhere else. But resourceful as ever, I hand sawed a recess with a Swiss Army knife. It only took most of the day. But now we have a lovely & discreet, working letterbox!

But it doesn't have a No Junkmail sign. A situation I have frowned upon for the last month or so - but I haven't yet found the "right" sign.

Although yesterday, I paused for thought about the No Junkmail... you see they delivered a glossy brochure all about the new BBQ factory in Lower Hutt. And if there's one thing to get me all excited... it's the new season's barbecues.